The ChillX Zone

Ghosts of Killiecrankie Said to Rise Each Year on Anniversary of 17th-Century Battle

JULY 27, 2025 — Strathearn, Perthshire, Scotland — Residents and travelers in the Perthshire region are once again reporting eerie apparitions and unsettling phenomena surrounding the anniversary of the Battle of Killiecrankie, which took place on July 27, 1689. On this date each year, strange occurrences are said to reawaken on the moorlands: blood-colored bogs, spectral soldiers, and ghostly figures drifting silently through the mist.

BLOOD IN THE WATER?

Shortly after sunset, bog water across the Killiecrankie Pass is reported to take on a sinister crimson hue—what locals refer to as “the red flood.” These incidents, described in detail by eyewitnesses, have become a grim annual tradition. Several motorists driving through the A9 corridor late last night claimed to see humanoid figures in outdated military dress vanishing into the tree line.

RE-ENACTING THE DEAD

The apparitions are thought to represent Jacobite and Government soldiers who fought and died during the fierce battle in 1689. Witnesses often speak of phantasmal armies silently clashing in the low-lying fog. No sounds accompany these visions—only the unnerving image of a battle without noise.

A particularly chilling tale, whispered from one generation to the next, involves the floating head of a murdered woman, seen drifting above the moor. Her gaze, it’s said, signals misfortune. Another figure—a tall, white-cloaked entity with an outstretched hand—is rumored to appear each year. Local superstition holds that anyone it touches will meet their death within twelve months.

A LAND STILL WOUNDED

The Battle of Killiecrankie was one of the bloodiest encounters of its time. Over a thousand men perished within the span of an hour. The soil, soaked with the past, seems unwilling to forget. Farmers in the area report odd disturbances in livestock behavior each late July, and ghost hunters regularly descend on the region seeking evidence of paranormal activity.

NO STRANGER TO STRANGE

Though no scientific explanation has ever been confirmed, the people of Strathearn and surrounding areas treat the date with quiet reverence. Locals often avoid the moor after sunset on July 27, while others gather quietly near the old battle site, hoping to glimpse a figure or hear a phantom footfall.

Whether it is residual energy from a violent history or the collective power of legend, one fact remains: each July 27th, the hills of Killiecrankie stir again with echoes from a distant war.

More than three centuries on, the ghosts of Killiecrankie remain some of Scotland’s most enduring legends—and on this night, many believe the past may once again cross into the present.